Fire hose clamp



July 22, 1941,- w. l. BJARNsoN FIRE HOSE CLAMP Filed June 3, 1940 Patented July 22, 1941 UNITED STATESPATENT OFFICE FIRE HosE oLfnvnJ william L. Bjarnson, Norm Bend, oreg.

Application June 3, 1940, Serial No. 338,571

2 claims.

My invention relates to a clamp, adapted for cutting 01T the flow of water thru broken fire hose or such hose under pressure, in which the hose, is clamped together between a platen and a jaw constituting one arm of a lever of the rst order whose cooperating power arm is adapted to keep the jaw open when the power arm is free from pressure which is applied thereto by a second lever of the rst order and held thereupon by moving the weight or lift arm of said second lever to an off-center position.

An object of my invention is to provide a lighter, cheaper, and more simplified structure in this art.

A further object is to provide such a structure which is open when not under pressure and which is locked shut when under pressure.

A still further object is to provide the last named structure wherein such features are inherent features of the basic members and not due to additional auxiliary members.

Such a structure is illustrated in the accompanying drawing in which Fig. 1 is a plan view; Fig. 2 is a side view; Fig. 3 is a section on 3-3 of Fig. 2; and Fig. 4 is a side View of a roller equipped weight or lift arm.

Thruout the drawing and the specification similar numerals refer to similar parts.

The clamp comprises a base A which may be designed in a number of ways and constructed as a one-piece casting or built up of sections welded together. For purpose of illustration we shall consider it as being a casting. This base A has two side bars I and 2 of rectangular cross section secured together by the spreaders 3, 4, 5, and 6, and by the foot pads 1y and 8 positioned at each end on the bottom face 9 of said side bars. Bridging the gap between the spreaders 3 and 4 and the side bars I and 2, is a concave platen or fixed jaw IIJ upon which a hose II is posi- 4 tioned when the same is being clamped to shut off the water flowing therethru.

This is brought about thru the agency of the rst order lever B fulcrumed on a pin I2 riveted in the ears I3 on the side bars I and 2. The pin I2 has a bearing in the lever B formed by a bushing I4 press-fitted in sai-d lever and extending therefrom to form the bosses or portions I5 whereby the clearance I6 is held between the lever B and the side bars I and 2.

The front end of the lever B is a T-shaped section II comprising a convex jaw I8 whose bottom I9 is formed substantially parallel to the concave top face 2|] of the platen I0 when the average hose to be worked upon is completely closed together as shown in Fig. 2. The rib 2| completes the T-shaped section I1 and acts as a stiiener for the jaw portion I8 and at the same time permits the jaw portion I8 to be cut down in weight without sacrificing too much strength. The jaw I8 is made lighter than the power arm portion 22 or the weight of said power arm is so distributed as to overbalance the jaw. The power arm 22 is raised by the weight or lift arm 23 of a second lever of the rst order in the form of a bell crank.

This bell crank C is fulcrumed on the pin 24 riveted in the Side bars I and 2. This pin 24 has a bearing in the bell crank formed by a bushing 25 press-tted in said bell crank and extending therefrom to form the bosses or portions 26 whereby the clearance 21 is held between the bell crank C and the side bars I and2. 'Ihe power arm 28 of said bell crank is formed with a socket 29 into which the end of the bar 30 may be inserted when it is desired to operate the clamp. This lever is made of a length which, together with the weight or power applied toits end 3l, is sucient to cause the jaw I8 to act upon the hose II to close it against the flow of water thru it. The spreaders 4, 5, and 6, may be pierced so that the bar 30 may be positioned as shown by its dot and ydash outline D when the clamp is not in use. The end of the lift arm 23 is rounded or semi-circular in form whereby its transition from one position to another on the bottom cam face 32 of the power arm 22 is smooth. The face 32 is shown straight for a major portion of its length forward of a slight bulge 33 which merges into a short curved length 34 scribed by the rounded end 35 of the arm 23 as it is moved beyond the center 36 into a position as shown in Fig. 2. When in this off-center position, the rounded en-d 35 lies behind the bulged portion 33. This position is reached prior to the engagement of the power arm 28 with the spreader 6 which acts as a stop and limits the movement of said power arm. The movement of this arm in the opposite direction is limited due to its oo-operating arm 23 coming into contact with the spreader 5. The arm 23 is also made of greater weight than the arm 28, or its weight so distributed that it will over-balance said arm 28, whereby the arm 23 will automatically come to rest against the spreader 5 whenever its rounded end 35 is not behind the bulge 33, or in other words, when the arm 23 is o-center. As the arm 23 lowers, the arm 22 follows it down automatically whereby the jaw portion I8 will be in a raised position spaced from the platen I0 ready for the reception of a hose II to be acted upon. The arm 22 because of its position and structure serves as a hand grip in carrying or moving the clamp about.

The end of the arm 23 may be provided with a roll 3'! whereby rolling friction is substituted for the sliding friction between the end 35 of the arm 23 and the bottom face 372 of the arm 22.

It is to be noted that the platen Ill is of greater width than the hose Il when it is flattened out when closed. Both the platen and the jaw should be designed to take the largest hose to be worked upon. It is also to be remarked that the bulge 33 is not altogether necessary to lock the arm 23 provided its centerline 38 is brought suinciently past the normal center 3S. To pass the arm 23 beyond the bulge 33, the compressibility of the hose H is taken advantage of and hence the hose should be completely closed when the end 35 is behind' the bulge 33 which in reality is a safety measure against un-premeditated movement of the bar 3U upwards. Any such movement is also acted against by the energy stored up in the compressed rubber of the hose if such material is used in the hose construction. It is also to `be noted that the end 3| of the bar 3D is moved downward to apply pressure to the jaw I8 which also moves in the same direction. In` other words, the pressure isfdown against the ground or support for the clamp. Y Y

The clamp illustrated is one-half size. I have repeatedly used this clamp to cutl olf 2V2 hose carrying 125 pounds pressure which is the maximumY our-.small town pumper will deliver. I believe this same clamp will cut off much greater pressures. However, it is obvious that it is mere- 1y a matter of size and leverage when it comes to meet the conditions imposed. The operation of the` clamp obvious without further comment. Y'

NVhat is new over the art is following claims.

I claim: f Y

1. A re hose clamp oomprisinga base, a fixed jaw on one .end offsaidfbase, alever of the rst order pivotally secured tothe Ybase and compris- .fing a jaw portion formed to cooperate with said fixed jaw andV a power arm, a .second lever .of

embodied .in the the rst order pivotally secured to the base adjacent the other end thereof and formed as a bell crank comprising a liftarm adapted to engage the lower face of the power arm of the rst lever and a power arm to which to apply downward pressure whereby a similar movement of the jaw portion is effected to compress a hose placed transversely therebetween, the power arm of the rst lever and the lift arm of the second lever each being heavier than the other arm of the respective levers to over-balance the opposite ends of said levers whereby to cause the jaw portion to -be raised from the fixed jaw ready for the reception of a hose therebetween until downward pressure is applied to the power arm of the second lever, the free end of said lift arm being movable to an oli-center position to releasably lock the levers in their hose-compressing positions- 2. A fire hose clamp comprising a base, a xed jaw on one end of said base, a lever of the first order pivotally secured to the base and comprising a jaw portion formed to cooperate with said xedjaw and a power arm `provided with a projection on its lower face, a second lever of the rst order pivotally secured to the base adjacent the other end thereof and formed as a bell crank comprising a lift arm adapted to engage the lower face of the power arm of the first lever and a power arm to which to apply downward pressure whereby a similar movement of the jaw portion toward the fixed jaw is effected to compress a hose placed transversely therebetween, the power arm of the flrst lever and the lift arm of the second lever each being heavier than the other arm of the respective levers to over-balance the opposite ends of said levers whereby to cause the jaw portion to be raised from the fixed jaw ready for the reception of a Vhose therebetween until downward pressure is applied to the power arm of the second lever, the free end of said lift arm being movable to a position between the projection and the free end of the power arm of said first -lever to releasably lock the levers in their hose-compression positions.

WTLLIAM L. BJARNSON. 

